How much of a difference can David Johnson make for the Cardinals in 2018?

The Arizona Cardinals are counting on running back David Johnson to be back at full health this upcoming season. He is expected to carry the load offensively. But what will a healthy Johnson really mean for the team?

After all, the Cardinals technically had better team results without him than with him.

They went 7-8-1 when he had one of the best seasons for a running back in league history. Then, after he went down with a season-ended injury in Week 1 last year, they finished 8-8.

In terms of wins and losses, Johnson doesn’t appear to have made much of an impact.

However, one can look at another metric and see he was quite impactful.

In terms of just the running game, the Cardinals were 18th in yards per game and 12th in yards per rushing attempt in 2016 when Johnson played the entire season.

In 2017, they were 30th in yards per attempt and 30th in rushing yards.

They averaged 26.1 points per game in 2016 with Johnson playing. They averaged 18.4 without him.

In 2016, Arizona’s point differential was +56. Last season, it was -66.

There were clearly other factors as to why the Cardinals did not experience more success in 2016, and if we recall, special teams problems cost the Cardinals several games.

So if Johnson does return in 2018 healthy and can repeat the success he had in 2016, it doesn’t guarantee a winning season, but he certainly puts the Cardinals in a better position to do so.